With the free agent departure of Carlos Santana in December, first base has become a transitory position for the Indians. They signed Yonder Alonso to a two-year, $16 million deal right after they lost Santana. Alonso turned the first pitch he saw into a home run in Friday's spring training opener against the Reds so for the immediate future things seem to be in good hands.

DH Edwin Encarnacion is expected to see some time at first as well this year. He's in the second year of a three-year, $60 million deal.

The Indians hold club options for 2020 on Alonso and Encarnacion, but it's not like they invested their future in either man such as the Padres did when they gave first baseman Eric Hosmer an eight-year contract.

Bradley, meanwhile, has been hard to ignore. In his first three years of pro ball, he led his league in homers and RBI. Last year, his first at Class AA Akron, he finished sixth in the Eastern League with 23 homers and second with 89 RBI. Along the way, he reduced his strikeouts from 170 at Class A Lynchburg in 2016 to 122 at Akron. That is not an easy thing to do when a player moves up in class.

While Bradley has always had power, this winter he showed commitment by losing 30 pounds. It did not go unnoticed in the organization.

"He's getting to the point in his career where not only is he knocking on the door, we want to see him knock the door down," said Francona. "By the way he's approaching things, I have no doubt that will happen."

When the Indians start spring training, Francona and the front office hold individual meetings with every player in camp. That's over 60 players and one meeting can run into another. That did not happen when Bradley walked through the door last week 30 pounds lighter.

"Of all the one-on-one meetings, he was the highlight just because of how he came to camp," said Francona. "He had an unbelievable winter. He went to both strength camps. He looks phenomenal. He should be really proud of himself."

Francona said he set a record for cuss words because he was so excited about Bradley's transformation.

"Because he had such a good winter and we don't have a ton of first basemen, he's going to get a chance to play a little bit," said Francona. "He deserves that reward because he had such a good offseason."

In Friday's 6-4 loss to the Reds, Bradley pinch hit at DH for Encarnacion and went 0-2. After playing in 131 games for Akron last season, Bradley went to the Arizona Fall League for more seasoning.

"This is a great honor to be invited to big league camp," said Bradley. "I'm going to take advantage of it.

"I just want to learn as much as possible from being around the veteran guys. Just kind of picking at their brains. Just getting the different mentalities that they have facing different pitchers and on defense."

Bradley, 21, is still a big man at 6-1 and 225 pounds. His left-handed swing has always got him noticed, but last year he discovered defense as well. Infield instructors John McDonald and former Gold Glove third baseman Travis Fryman spent a lot of time working with him. One of the reasons the Indians sent him to the AFL was to continue his defensive work.

"When I was younger, I mainly saw myself as a hitter," said Bradley, "but as I got older I learned you've got to be able to play both sides of the ball to be a big leaguer and stay a big leaguer.

"I just decided to take it more serious and actually learn the position. I got with our infield coordinators (McDonald and Fryman). They really helped me. We all got together and came up with different drills that I did this offseason and last season."

Bradley said he lost the weight by changing his diet and joining Orangetheory Fitness with his wife, Nenwea.

"It's group based interval training," he said. "I started it in Akron and brought it out here to Arizona. I'm moving more freely. I don't have as much weight to pull around."

Said Francona, "Offensively, it's really exciting what he could grow into. But to see his body take shape so you don't have to worry about the defensive part of the game. Or him being a base clogger. Even when you're talking about bat quickness, staying healthy and being durable - he completely changed his body in one offseason."

One of the reasons Bradley's strikeouts fell last season is that he's tried to change his approach to hitting. He tried to make more contact and hit the ball from gap to gap in the outfield.

"I'm trying to be more of a line-drive guy," said Bradley. "I'm trying to have a better approach."

It's easier said than done for a power hitter.

"It's hard," said Bradley. "I know what I can do. So there are a lot of times during the season when I'll say I just want to hit a homer here. But I'm trying to focus on hitting a line drive back up the middle."

Bradley could open the season at Class AAA Columbus or return to Akron. Both cities are close enough to Cleveland to hear when he's getting ready to knock the door down.